Military pilot Jo Ellis said she had to hire private armed security for her family because of the false claims, which went viral on social media.
A transgender military pilot filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a conservative influencer who falsely claimed on social media that she was flying the helicopter that collided with a commercial jet near Reagan National Airport in January, killing 67 people.
“I want to hold this person accountable for what they did to me,” Jo Ellis, a pilot who has served more than 15 years in the Virginia Army National Guard, said in a statement to NBC News. “It’s become too common that people can say horrible things about someone, profit at their expense, and get away with it.”
On Jan. 30, less than 24 hours after the crash, conservative influencer Matt Wallace, who has 2.2 million followers on the social media platform X, shared a post from another account he operates stating that the helicopter pilot was transgender, according to the lawsuit. Wallace included a photo of Ellis, and the post went viral, the lawsuit states.
Soon after Ellis’ statement on Facebook, Wallace shared another X user’s post with Ellis’ video, writing that it was an “Important Update!” and adding that Ellis was not piloting the helicopter and is still alive. Wallace also wrote in another X post that the original rumor that Ellis had been flying the helicopter involved in the crash came from another account with the handle @FakeGayPolitics, which is no longer active. Wallace said the rumor “seemed credible” because Ellis, whom Wallace misgendered in his posts, “wrote an article calling out Trump’s trans military ban only a few days ago.”
How does this logic work in his head?
I wish them great success. Not only were they greatly wronged, which could cost future jobs, but in the rush for clicks, too many streamers think that freedom of speech also means free from the consequences of their words. That needs to change
Her, and “was she”… but good on you for not being hateful!
they should make this guy famous as the influencer who tries to defame the US military, give him a taste of his own medicine
deleted by creator
